


Settled

by HeartsInJeopardy



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Basketball, Fluff, M/M, Milkshakes, movie date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22457596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartsInJeopardy/pseuds/HeartsInJeopardy
Summary: “My life is magical and messed up, but somehow it all makes sense with you.”
Relationships: Theo Putnam/Robin Goodfellow
Comments: 16
Kudos: 107





	Settled

**Author's Note:**

> I thought these two were really cute so I wanted to write something upbeat for them. It’s a chill, fluffy story set in the quiet days after Part 3.  
> I love feedback – good or bad – so I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Lights dimmed on either side of the Paramount Theater as the red curtains shrouding its screen drew back. From his seat in the room’s dead center, Theo craned his neck to scan the doors at the back of the room.

His leather jacket was draped over the empty seat beside him, and Theo had noticed patrons nearby eyeing the space intently. With his head turned, he could hear the jingle that played before the trailers wrapping up. At last Robin hurried through the doors with a tray of drinks and snacks in hand. Theo saw him push up the brim of his red baseball cap to peer through the dark room. He waved up to Robin and soon he was rushing down the aisle to their seats.

“There’s still people stuck in line back there,” Robin said as he settled in his chair. “I had to run to make it back before the trailers started.”

Theo’s eyes widened and he leaned closer to Robin. “You didn’t…”

“As in running _normally_ ,” Robin stressed. “Like a regular teenage boy, which I totally am.”

They shared a smile as Theo took his drink and chocolate mints from Robin’s tray.

There was a lineup of horror movie trailers before the night’s feature – a revival showing of _The Thing_ – and Theo took in the frightened reactions around him with mischievous glee. After everything Sabrina had put him through, jump scares and gory makeup just didn’t startle him like they used to.

At a sudden burst of eerie music, a woman in front of Theo buried her face in her date’s shoulder. Theo glanced at Robin and found him smiling at the screen, idly chewing popcorn.

The trailers ended and a hush settled over the crowd. White credits flashed on the black screen, while the low, droning notes of the score gradually rose in volume.

Theo leaned over, saw Robin watching raptly, and whispered, “Getting scared yet?”

He shot Theo a look that asked, _Are you serious?_

“Just checking.” Theo shrugged. “I was going to let you hold my hand if you were scared.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Robin’s lips as he clued in. He set his open hand on the armrest between them. Theo linked his arm with Robin’s and threaded their fingers together, resting his head on Robin’s shoulder.

***

“That’s gross!” Theo groaned and covered his eyes.

“What, like you’ve never tried it?”

Robin dipped a pair of French fries in his chocolate milkshake and scarfed them down. “It’s exactly the same as eating them together.”

“I can’t explain why that’s wrong,” Theo laughed, “but it just is.”

As usual, kids from Baxter High had descended on Cerberus Books after the Paramount’s showing ended and packed the café. Robin had snagged a table by the window for himself and Theo before the rush – and after a winding, high-speed run through Greendale’s quiet streets to beat the crowd.

Robin rolled a fry between his fingers and shrugged at Theo. “Maybe it’s a hobgoblin thing. Like my sense of taste is different.”

Theo cocked his head and studied Robin’s sharp features curiously. “Well, we know you like corn dogs, popcorn and soda…”

“Chocolate,” Robin continued, “strawberries, blueberries, bananas…”

“Wheatgrass?”

Theo was relieved to see Robin shake his head. “Beets?” he asked Theo.

“They’re not exactly my favorite.”

“How about toads?” Robin waited for Theo’s eyebrows to shoot up before breaking into a grin. “Come on, that was too easy.”

Theo rolled his eyes and flicked a fry across the table. He took a sip of his milkshake and caught Robin watching him with a warm smile. “What?” he asked, feeling his cheeks flush.

“I guess I don’t annoy you enough, because I never realized how cute it makes you look.”

Theo jabbed Robin’s shoulder but couldn’t keep himself from smiling. “Just don’t make a habit of it,” he warned.

“You got it, tough guy,” Robin laughed.

He glanced around at the other smiling couples and groups of friends at the café’s tables. More kids strolled past the front window, laughing at someone’s joke.

“Greendale is so peaceful,” Robin mused. “I’ve never been-” He trailed off suddenly, hearing Theo snicker behind his hand.

“I’m sorry, it’s just _peaceful_ is not the word I would use.”

Robin smiled sheepishly. “Obviously there’s all of the witchiness…”

“And ghosts,” Theo added, “demons, angels, body snatching plants, murderous ice cream men.” He raised an eyebrow. “Hobgoblins.”

“Hey!” Robin chuckled and put up his hands. “I come in peace. And yes, granted, Greendale has been through a lot of weirdness. But you have to admit there’s something, I don’t know, _tranquil_ about it.”

Theo pursed his lips. He stared down at the dregs of his milkshake and swirled them with its straw.

“Everyone says that small towns like Greendale are safe and friendly,” he said. “But when you grow up in one and you don’t fit in, it’s like the opposite. Like you’re trapped here.”

Robin nodded thoughtfully. “I dealt with a lot of bullies, but we moved around so often that by the time they started picking on the new kid I was leaving again.” 

“And meanwhile I was stuck here,” Theo grimaced. “Dealing with the same Greendale assholes my whole life.”

“But you found friends,” Robin said hopefully. “Sabrina, Roz and Harvey.”

The corners of Theo’s lips tilted up. He reached across the table to gently squeeze Robin’s hand. “And you.”

“And me.”

They shared a smile. Robin leaned forward and Theo pushed up the brim of his cap to kiss him without bumping it.

A hoot and a peel of laughter from across the room broke them up. Theo glanced over his shoulder and saw a group of smirking football players at a far table, pretending not to stare at them.

“We can get out of here if you want,” Robin offered.

Theo turned back to him with a wry smile. “Why? We’re not done yet.”

He set his hand on Robin’s and stroked it with his thumb, then took a fry from the basket between them. He dipped it in Robin’s milkshake and took a bite, wearing a dubious expression.

Robin lifted an eyebrow. “Your verdict?”

“It’s no toad,” Theo said with a grin. “But it’s not bad.”

***

The loud _smack_ of a hand swatting a basketball mingled with the chirping of crickets outside the secluded Putnam farmhouse. Theo trudged back to the driveway and the hazy light of the front lampposts with the ball under his arm, giving Robin a stern look.

“That’s cheating,” he said.

“It was not! I swear I was running at normal speed.”

“Yeah but that was _goaltending_.” Theo bounced the ball to him. “Which is a foul.” He tugged up the sleeves of his Fright Club T-shirt and beckoned for the ball.

“What’s the score again?” Robin asked as he passed the ball back. He spread his long arms out to their full wingspan, blocking off Theo’s path to the hoop.

Theo smirked while dribbling steadily. “Game point for me, which means you won’t have to worry about keeping score much longer.”

He kept his eyes fixed on Robin’s face while inching closer to the hoop. A sudden pass behind Theo’s back and a step to the left made Robin shuffle sideways. Theo was already breaking to his right, under Robin’s arm and toward the hoop.

He jumped off one foot for a layup and felt his body jerk backward. Robin’s arms were wrapped tight around his waist, holding him off the ground.

“This is _definitely_ a foul,” Theo giggled. He squirmed in Robin’s grasp while the ball rolled away.

“Maybe,” Robin said warily, “but if I let you down I’m _definitely_ going to lose.”

“Chicken,” Theo scoffed.

“Tough guy,” Robin shot back.

Theo turned his head and found Robin’s smiling face almost level with his own. His hands steadied himself on Robin’s strong arms, and he could feel the quick pace of Robin’s beating heart against his back. Their gazes met and Theo knew instantly that Robin could read the desire on his face as plainly as he saw it in Robin’s brown eyes.

Robin leaned forward first, softly pressing their lips together. Theo reached back to cup Robin’s cheek while their tongues brushed against each other.

Robin set him down slowly, leaning forward to keep from breaking their kiss. When Theo’s sneakers touched the ground Robin drew his arms back, rubbing his hands across Theo’s stomach and chest over his T-shirt.

Theo cooed approvingly, clasping one of Robin’s hands with his own. Robin pulled his head back, pecking Theo’s cheek and trailing a line of kisses down his neck. His free hand slipped under Theo’s shirt and ventured over his taut stomach, leaving a path of tingling skin. Theo exhaled sharply, nuzzling his warm cheek against Robin’s head while he left sloppy kisses on Theo’s neck.

Robin’s hand slipped down. He hooked a finger through Theo’s belt loop and turned him around. Theo wrapped his arms around Robin’s body while Robin cupped his face.

They stayed apart for a long moment, with Theo gazing up and Robin biting his lip. Then Theo popped one leg up and rose on his tiptoes to meet Robin for a deeper, passionate kiss.

A muffled noise of surprise from Robin made Theo’s eyes snap open. He stepped back and saw the lampposts flickering on and off.

The silent signal was normally Joe Putnam’s quiet way of telling Theo to put down his basketball and go to bed. It was definitely past his curfew, but this time Theo felt a twinge of embarrassment, wondering if his dad had peeked outside and spotted him in Robin’s arms before calling them in.

“The fun police,” he mouthed to Robin as they backed apart. He picked his jacket off the ground and brushed dirt off it.

Robin gathered the ball from where it had rolled down the driveway. “He’s not so bad,” he told Theo. “He doesn’t make me sleep on the couch, which is cool. And it’s kind of nice to have an adult in your life that’s like, responsible and normal.”

Theo fell in beside Robin and wrapped an arm around his waist. Robin draped an arm over Theo’s shoulders with the same casual familiarity. 

“Obviously, I’m grateful my dad isn’t a monster worshipping child murderer,” Theo said. “But don’t tell him that, because it might go to his head.”

***

Theo’s eyes opened at a creaking sound from somewhere above his bed. Even half asleep, he knew instinctively that it was a “normal” noise from the aging farmhouse and put it out of his mind.

But when Theo rolled over, he found Robin staring back at him, looking wide awake and wearing a sheepish smile.

“Uh, hey,” he mumbled.

Theo rubbed his bleary eyes, stretching a hand through the baggy sleeve of a sweater he had borrowed from Robin. “Whuh issit,” he muttered. “Why are you still up?”

“I was just… thinking,” Robin said. Theo guessed he was trying to sound nonchalant, but in the hushed tone they were using it didn’t have quite the same effect.

“Up thinking in the middle of the night, while staring at me.” Theo studied Robin’s chagrined face in the moonlight and narrowed his eyes. “Now you have to tell me what’s really up or I won’t fall asleep either.”

Robin sighed and draped an arm over Theo. He scooted closer under their sheets, pressing against Robin’s bare chest and tangling their legs together.

“Not to sound sappy,” Robin began, “but I was thinking about us.”

Theo could feel himself nodding off again but whispered, “I’m listening.”

“It just struck me how close I came to losing you.”

Theo’s heavy eyelids blinked in confusion and he squinted at Robin. “When?”

“With the Green Man,” Robin said. “What Sabrina told us about the future.” His brow furrowed. “Or the past now, I guess, the one that almost happened.”

Theo raised himself up on one elbow. “I mean, technically I was the one who lost you – theoretically.” He chewed his lip. “Or actually, maybe, but only in that timeline.” He dismissed the jumbled thoughts with a wave of his hand. “But really we both lost _everyone_ in that case.”

Theo’s hand settled between them and Robin laid his own over it. “What I meant was,” he explained patiently, “it kind of messed me up to think I might have died just after meeting you.”

Theo scoffed. “And I thought I was the sappy one.”

Robin reached down to tickle Theo’s bare legs, making him draw up his knees and stifle a bout of giggles. He shoved Robin playfully to make him stop.

“I’m being serious,” Robin said when their laughter had subsided. “Do you remember our first time?”

“ _Yes_.” Theo nodded slowly, drawing a chuckle from Robin.

“Well, before that you told me, ‘I never thought I’d meet anyone who accepts me as I am.’”

Theo nodded, noting the earnest look on Robin’s face.

Robin sighed. “ _I_ never thought I’d meet anyone who could make me feel _normal_ the way you do.” He stared deeply into Theo’s eyes as he continued, “My life is magical and messed up, but somehow it all makes sense with you.”

“Robin,” Theo said softly, stroking a hand through his green hair and over one pointed ear.

“And that’s what I couldn’t stop thinking about. I have so much more I want to share with you, I ju-”

Theo cut Robin off, tugging sharply on the back of his neck to pull him into a hungry kiss. Robin rolled over, dragging Theo on top of him and pressing their bodies close together. He held tight until Theo finally leaned back, cupping Robin’s face and gazing at him with glistening eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he insisted. He swept Robin’s long hair out of his face and tucked it behind one of his pointed ears. “And I’m not letting go of you either.”

He clasped hands with Robin and interlaced their fingers while sprawling on top of him, his head nuzzled against the crook of Robin’s neck. The fingers of Robin’s free hand threaded into Theo’s short brown hair, gently rubbing Theo’s head until his breathing fell into a quiet, steady rhythm.

Robin pecked Theo’s cheek and shut his eyes, letting the gentle beat of Theo’s heart against his chest lull him to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far I'd love to hear what you thought!


End file.
